The Obama Sisters: This Is How Much Money They're Really Worth

The Obama sisters grew up in front of America's eyes, transforming from adorable children into beautiful and accomplished young women. While they haven't entered the work force yet, they are well on their way to becoming two wealthy, accomplished adults. Malia and Sasha Obama are not just heiresses to the substantial and rapidly growing Obama fortune, but they are also intelligent and talented women who are gearing up to make some pretty big waves of their own.

Sasha and Malia are still in college so their finances are still largely tied to their parents' wealth, but that could all be changing soon. Between their wealthy background and the top-notch educations that they are receiving, the former presidential kids could one day amass quite a healthy fortune of their own. So how much are the Obama sisters really worth? To figure that out, we'll need to take a deeper look into the Obama family and their finances.

Sasha and Malia Obama are no strangers to hard work. The Obama sisters may have grown up famous and in a well-off family, but that doesn't mean they have had everything handed to them. Barack and Michelle Obama made sure that their kids knew the importance of working hard. "That was the first thing I said to some of the staff when I did my visit," Michelle told ABC News of meeting with the White House staff in 2009 (via The New York Times). "Don't make their beds. Make mine. Skip the kids. They have to learn these things."

Barack said that until his presidential campaign became too chaotic, he was giving Malia an allowance of $1 per week — hardly enough to spoil his then-prepubescent daughter. It seems Sasha was too young to receive any allowance at all at that point. It looks like when the Obama sisters are ready to enter the work force, they will do so with a strong work ethic cultivated by their hard-working parents.

While Sasha and Malia Obama are still quite young and haven't had much of an opportunity to build up their own fortunes, the Obama sisters will likely inherit a hefty amount from their mother one day. Michelle Obama has amassed quite a bit of wealth throughout her career. In 2018, the New York Post reported that Michelle commands a speaking fee of $225,000 and often gives speeches for corporations and nonprofits. In 2018, Michelle and her husband also signed a $50 million production deal with Netflix which stands to earn a substantial profit.

The former first lady also earned millions for her best-selling memoir, Becoming, which was selected as an Oprah's Book Club pick in 2018. According to Reuters, the autobiography received an advance of more than $60 million, adding a pretty penny to the Obamas' fortune. The outlet reported in March 2019 that Michelle's memoir could eventually become the best-selling autobiography of all time.

Sasha and Malia will probably inherit quite a lot of money from their father, Barack Obama. The former president is worth millions. According to Business Insider, the Obamas entered the White House in 2008 with an estimated net worth of $1.3 million. That already impressive sum has since ballooned to a conservative estimate of $40 million by 2018, although the New York Post estimates that the former president and first lady could be worth as much as $135 million. 

That sum includes money from speaking engagements, book deals, and a six-figure annual pension which all former U.S. presidents receive. Barack reportedly earns as much as $400,000 for a speaking engagement. Between Barack's astronomical earnings and his wife's equally impressive success, the Obama sisters will almost certainly inherit millions — if not more —  from their famous and powerful parents one day. 

Even though Sasha and Malia Obama are still in college, they're not as broke as most college students are. As the daughters of millionaires, the Obama sisters won't have to take out student loans to complete their college educations. Sasha is a student at the University of Michigan, which, according to the university's website, comes with a price tag of $54,794 for out-of-state students for the 2019-2020 school year. Room and board costs an additional $11,996. Malia is studying at Harvard which also costs quite a lot of money. According to the school's website, Harvard's fees for the 2018-2019 school year were $67,580 for tuition, room, and board. 

While we don't know if the Obama sisters have earned any scholarships, their parents' fortune means that they won't qualify for financial aid. Graduating without student debt will put them at a significant advantage. According to NBC News, 20 percent of adult Americans carry student loan debt, with the average monthly student loan payment ranging from $200 to $300.

The Obama sisters' college careers are shrouded in a lot of secrecy. It's not surprising that they would want to remain as private as possible after living life in the public eye for so long. We don't know what Malia Obama is studying in college, but it's likely to be something that will earn her a considerable salary after graduation, whether or not she decides to go on to graduate school. As a Harvard alum, Malia Obama will be joining the ranks of rich and powerful people — including her own parents. 

According to Emolument, the average starting salary for a Harvard grad can vary considerably depending on field of study, but Harvard grads are often big earners. Legal and paralegal grads make an average of $306,000 per year, while those in human resources make $134,000. Education and research professionals are the lowest paid, but even they make a healthy $70,000 per year.

Sasha Obama isn't at an Ivy League institution like her sister, but she is studying at a prestigious public institution. Like Malia Obama, she hasn't announced her college major yet. Graduating from the University of Michigan will provide her with a robust alumni network once she graduates, as prominent Michigan alums include former president Gerald Ford, iPod inventor Tony Fadell, singers Madonna and Iggy Pop, and writer Celeste Ng. Many of the school's graduates have gone on to achieve some pretty impressive things, and they earn a pretty penny while doing it. 

According to PayScale, graduates of the University of Michigan can expect to earn a good salary. The average Bachelor of Arts earner makes an average salary of about $65,000. The average salary for STEM grads and those earning advanced degrees is even higher. A steady salary, combined with the fact that Sasha won't be graduating with student debt, will get this Obama sister's career off to a financially sound start.

While being the kid of a former president isn't a guaranteed pathway to success, it does significantly increase the odds of becoming successful. Being the child of a former president comes with a lot of clout that could serve the Obama sisters well after they graduate from college. Spending their formative years in the White House has left an impact on the lives of the Obama sisters, as it has on other former presidential children. They could very well find themselves following in the footsteps of other prominent figures whose fathers were also presidents. 

Chelsea Clinton, for example, is now worth millions. Her stock in IAC, which owns a portfolio of internet brands, is worth more than $6 million, according to Barron's, and Clinton is on the company's board. Jenna Bush is also worth a fortune. According to Celebrity Net Worth, George W. Bush's daughter is worth a cool $10 million, earning $4 million a year as a co-host on the Today show. 

While Sasha Obama's exact net worth is unknown as of this writing, Malia Obama is worth $100,000 in her own right, according to Celebrity Net Worth, although the International Business Times says she could be worth as much as $250,000. While this doesn't sound like that much money (at least not compared to her family's millions), it's still a pretty impressive fortune for a college student. Where did all of that money come from?  

In 2015, while still in high school, Malia interned on the set of the show Girls, according to The Guardian. The summer before that, she was a production assistant on the set of Extant. While such internships typically don't pay very much, there are other places the money could have come from. Yahoo! News reported in 2012 that Barack Obama bought Bright Directions Age-Based Growth Plans for Sasha and Malia in 2007 which would have been worth, as of 2010, anywhere from $100,000 to $200,000 each. Sounds like the Obama sisters will always be well off.